Philippines – Manila Davao Borocay – Travel Food Entertainment

 

Best “Pulutan” Food in the Philippines

 

So you’re at home and you want to have some sort of a drinking party with your friends or close relatives. The drink is essentially not a problem since beer is always the drink of choice. Just make sure that it’s cold and that’s it. But then there’s the “pulutan” that you have to deal with. What would be a good choice for a pulutan? Luckily you have me to show you the best “pulutan” to have when you’re drinking with your friends.

 

1) Sisig- Sisig is probably the most popular pulutan there is right now in the Philippines. There is practically no bar or drinking watering hole right that does not have it in their menu. Beer is the drink of choice for most Filipinos and Sisig is the best match for it.

 

What is sisig anyway? Sisig is basically cartilage and most of it comes from the face and ears of a pig. This part is chopped to little pieces and with a few chilies, garlic, onions and liver, and it’s then served on a hot plate. The spiciness and the sizzle of the sisig makes it a great complement to the ice cold beer that you have on hand. The other good thing about it is that it is relatively cheap and a lot of people can eat it because it can be partitioned to very small servings.

 

2) Peanuts – There used to be a commercial for beer where a popular actor and a comedian where laughing at the fact that they have the best beer but their pulutan is basically a small plate of peanuts (isang platitong mani). Just like sisig, peanuts are a favorite among Filipino beer drinkers because a lot of people can eat it and people will not be able to just grab one while the others just get to watch him eat. It’s easy to eat and is therefore perfect for conversations.

 

In some bars, the first small plate of peanuts is actually free. While some people may take advantage of such a deal, most Filipinos feel the obligation to buy something else as well. There is also a variety of peanuts to choose from but mostly,what is available in restaurants is what is called “adobo” which basically means it has garlic and deep fried.

 

3) Kilawin

 

You think the Japanese are the only ones who eat raw food? You’ll be surprised. Filipinos have an especially distinct way of eating raw food which is also perfect for having a good drink-a-thon. Kilawin is a very distinctly Filipino food that some schools of thought would argue that the same is the only true Filipino food. This means that this type of food was not taken from or a variation of a foreign type of food since such is the case with a lot of the dishes in the Philippines.

 

The basic ingredient of Kilawin is usually pork or tuna. With several spices such as ginger, garlic and the local sili, it is then “cooked” with vinegar and/or the Philippine lemon called kalamansi. Vinegar and/or kalamansi cooks the basic ingredient. This is what makes the dish so unique. It is absolutely perfect for long drinking sessions. The best type of kilawin is made with fresh tuna. There are variations however, and almost any sort of fish can be used for kilawin.